Problems and Solutions of keeping Divergent TL paths Divergent?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

But what it isn't, is divergent technology. We have no equivalent of it.

From a setting-level PoV, it IS nothing more than divergent. The ^ defines whether the tech breaks any laws of nature AS WE KNOW them. Or do you think that the average Trekkie Engineer will start exchanging technologies by explaining that it is superscience? Superscience is a GM-LEVEL concept.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Molokh

From a setting-level PoV, it IS nothing more than divergent.

No, it's actually more advanced. We can't do that by other means. We can't do that at all. It's not the same thing as a car with a compact highly efficient steam motor that is the equivalent of our IC engine or a world that has legged vehicles instead of any vehicles with wheels

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

No, it's actually more advanced. We can't do that by other means. We can't do that at all. It's not the same thing as a car with a compact highly efficient steam motor that is the equivalent of our IC engine or a world that has legged vehicles instead of any vehicles with wheels

Last I remember, the High TL advantage did not include any enhancements for having access to superscience. In fact, if it were more advanced, techbooks would've assigned this stuff to a higher TL, but the 4e change of approach was to assign impossible stuff to the TL^ based on usefulness, not on the expectation that it will stop being ^ on a higher TL.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Molokh

Last I remember, the High TL advantage did not include any enhancements for having access to superscience. In fact, if it were more advanced, techbooks would've assigned this stuff to a higher TL, but the 4e change of approach was to assign impossible stuff to the TL^ based on usefulness, not on the expectation that it will stop being ^ on a higher TL.

Which explains why Broadcast Power is TL 10^ in Ultratech. Of course there could be machines that run off it which are only TL 5+2 on Gernsback.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Which explains why Broadcast Power is TL 10^ in Ultratech. Of course there could be machines that run off it which are only TL 5+2 on Gernsback.

Actually, low-efficiency broadcast power is currently available, and people are working on making it more efficient. There's even been a thread dedicated to it not very long ago.

But we're picking nits instead of addressing the whole issue with all the examples etc.

[vicky_molokh]

BTW, Fantasy takes a selection of weird stuff and assigns TLs, and notice that they're all listed as TL(x+y), not TLx^:

Originally Posted by GURPS Fantasy

Charles Babbage’s analytical
engine, Nikola Tesla’s beamed power,
. . .
Talos, a
bronze warrior, and the wings of
Daedalus and Icarus. Designate such
mechanisms as TL(n+1); Daedalus’s
wings were TL(1+1), and Renaissance
ornithopters are TL(4+1).
Occasionally a higher bonus may
be appropriate. For example, the
Flintstones live in a TL(0+7) world

And the TL of elves in Paradise (again, GURPS Fantasy) is also Divergent, not Superscience.